Go Ask Mom
Triad mom creates clothing designed to grow with your child
UNC-Greensboro graduate Morgan South has created a clothing line that includes "grow with me" technology, cooling fabrics, cover stitching, and reversible construction.
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By Kathy Hanrahan, WRAL lifestyle editor
RALEIGH, N.C. — Children grow up way too fast. And they outgrow their clothing even faster! But a Triad mom has a solution to help your child's clothing last a little longer.
Meet UNC-Greensboro graduate Morgan South, creator of GenerationJoy clothing line for children. The brand includes "grow with me" technology, cooling fabrics, cover stitching, and reversible construction to help you get more use out of your child's clothing.
Check out our Q&A with Morgan below.
What inspired you to start your business?
Morgan: GenerationJoy is a combination of two of my favorite things in life, apparel and being a mom. In the children’s clothing space there really is a white space for good, quality apparel items that can withstand more than a few weeks – to a season without shrinking, falling apart, or being ruined during basic laundering needs, and also won’t take an entire paycheck to buy.
What makes your business unique?
Morgan: When coming up with our line and styles I literally pulled some of my least favorite items from my kids drawers – ones that had holes in them, were pilled all over, didn’t filtrate a few wash/dry cycles and put them on the table in front of our brainstorming group to show the problem we needed to help solve for children’s apparel. From there, we started with the most important wear factor for kids, which is comfort, and sourced fabrics that would be super soft, have stretch for flexibility, and offer a good fit for everyday wear. Next, we took into account how we could extend the value and life cycle of the products by incorporating design features that would make parents confident in buying our styles also. Our mission at the basic level (and our tagline) is to “make clothes kids and parents can enJOY”
Where are you from? Tell me about your family. Did they inspire you to create this company?
Morgan: I’m from the Triad area in North Carolina, mostly Greensboro/Summerfield area. I graduated from UNCG’s Consumer Apparel & Retail studies program in the Bryan business school where I studied retail and consumer studies. I have 3 children – Chole (9), Jax (5), and Mila (3 months) My oldest, Chloe and Jax, are my biggest inspirations in designing and creating this brand and helping to identify the needs as well as new styles we want to introduce.
My daughter Chloe also loves fashion so this brand is something fun we can bond over as well – she even helps with brand development by fit testing products, making TikToks with me for our social media, and telling me what she/her friends like and don’t like to wear 😊 My son Jax has also especially helped to inspire our vision, mission and approach for the brand. He was welcomed into this world with minor physical differences that aren’t critically impacting to life but are noticeable and questioned especially by children innocently wondering why he only has 4 fingers and a “smaller arm.” It’s helped to validate even more as a parent, and a brand manager with a platform to influence children, that we can use this brand to reinforce positive brand messaging that’s inclusive, positive, and empowering to ALL children.
Lastly, I’d say being a parent in general I can’t deny how grateful I am to be able to provide the basic necessities to my children and knowing that there are children with lack of resources is something we also want to use Generation Joy to help make an impact on, no matter how big or small. For BTS season we’ve recently launched an add-in to our website that allows our shoppers to round-up their totals and donate to the No Kid Hungry organization and fight hunger for children.
What makes your clothing stand out?
Morgan: Our unique design features help to differentiate our styles from other brands in the market and drive home the value for parents making the purchase. Our favorite styles, and one of our top sellers, is the girls ultimate reversible leggings. One side has a fun, trendy pattern and the inverse is a solid color. This allows children to get two outfits out of one style and can easily be mixed and matched with tops offered by Generation Joy, or even other brands in kiddos wardrobes. We came up with concepts like “Grow with Me” features where we found ways to add length to the pant legs, designed girls tops with added length and dolman sleeves to allow more room for growth and still maintaining the right fit, etc. We also have a hyper focus on our fabrications – making sure they’re laundry friendly, cool and comfortable, and won’t pill, thin out, or fall apart after minimal wears. All of our styles are tagless as well to help with sensitivity and sensory needs from kids who refuse to wear items with scratchy tags in the seams.
What are some back to school fashion tips for parents to consider?
Morgan: When it comes to back to school shopping it’s best to find the balance between looking good, finding comfortable fits, and seeing the value in the products that you’re purchasing. By value we mean how many outfits can you mix and match, even with your current wardrobe to make multiple outfits with just a couple of core pieces? How many times is it going to withstand the washer and dryer before it thins out, pills, or shrinks up? Is your little one actually going to want to wear it and feel comfortable and confident in it whether they’re sitting at a desk or doing cartwheels on the playground? In the mornings when getting my kids ready for school I really like to let them choose what they prefer first, and then occasionally offer some guidance on what actually matches best. It’s great to have staple pieces like leggings, tees ,jackets etc. that are quick and easy to style and my kids will actually like to wear.
Is there a certain print of style that you are seeing a lot of in the market?
Morgan: For girls, our reversible leopard print leggings – paired with the peach tank, or long sleeve navy top and/or our peach pullover is our top selling outfit.
For boys, our fantastic fleece joggers paired with the dino bones or space doodle t-shirt, and the fleece pullover or zip up jacket is a favorite outfit as we start to prepare for cooler, Fall weather that’ll be here before we know it.
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